Shaving soap holder and applicator



V. L. MARTIN SHAVING SOAP HOLDER AND APPLICATOR Nov. 26, 1957 'Filed Dec. 4, 1956 Vic/or L. Martin INVENTORI ni t StatesPatent The present invention relates to an improved holder and applicator for a cake of soap, for example, a circular cakeof shaving soap such as is currently marketed for use in a shaving mug.

Others engaged in the field of invention under advisemerit having recognized the time consuming, messiness and other wasteful aspects of the mug and brush problem have sought to solve the problem with varying styles and forms of soap holders and appliers. The fact that prior art adaptations have apparently not met with widespread adoption and use gave rise to'the herein revealed incentive to provide and offer what is believed to be a practical advance in the art; namely, a structurally novel and distinctive holder which is destined, it is believed, to serve the manufacturing requirements and economies of manufa'ctureres, and the convenience and needs of users.

In carrying out the principles of the present concept a simple, practical and elficient sheath or holder is utilized. This holder is channeLshaped in construction so that the cake of soap may be clampingly suspended and effectually held in the channel or space with the usable surface portions of the soap available in such a way that a selected area of the soap may be wiped or stroked against the users face in preparation for lathering with a shaving brush.

The invention also features novel adapter means rotat ably mounted in the opposed vertical walls of the sheath and equipped with spurs or pins which are embedded in opposite sides of the cake of soap to hold it securely and yet to permit it to rotate, as the user sees fit, in order to use up the soap in an easy-to-use and economical manner.

Then, too, novelty is predicated on the appropriation and use of adapters of hub-like construction journaled in bearings provided therefor in the side walls of the sheath and wherein at least one, perhaps both, of the adapters associate themselves with pawl and ratchet means, making it practical to rotate the cake of soap in a step-by-step manner and also to cause it to stay put relative to the sheath for handy and reliable use.

Other objects, features and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description and the accompanying sheet of illustrative, but not restrictive, drawings.

In the accompanying sheet of drawings wherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the views:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a shaving soap holder and applicator constructed in accordance with the principles of the invention and readied for use;

Fig. 2 is a section, slightly enlarged in scale, taken on the plane of the vertical line 2-2 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the irregular line 33 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view detailing one of the hub-like adapters and the pawl and ratchet means.

' be said to be of hub like construction; It is constructed toembody an-inner flange 26'which has wipingx'contact Referring now to the drawings the holder takes the form of a so-called sheath and is denoted as an entity by the numeral ,6. It is preferably of one-piece construction and although it may be made of non-corrodable metal, aluminum for example, it is preferably constructed from moldable commercial plastics of a suitable grade.'

It is open-ended and channel-shaped in cross-section and embodies a web 8 which is flat and provides a satisfactory base or bottom. Attached to and rising from the marginal edges of the base are the vertical opposed approximately parallel duplicate side walls 10. The side walls in elevation may be of any suitable shape or contour and' are here shown as having curved marginal edges 12 for sake of appearance and also to expose ample surface portions of the circular-type shaving soap 14. The upper central portions of the walls are reduced and are somewhat semi-circular in shape as at 16. These upper por tions are constructed to accommodate the means which isemployed to removably clamp and' also rotatably mount the cake of soap in the sheath. This means may" vary in construction.

It is within the purview of the invention to utilize any practical or satisfactory suspension and turning means for the cake of soap. More.

specifically, the means illustrated is'preferred. To this end the portion 16 is extruded or otherwise indented and molded to provide a cup-like recess or an equivalent formation 18. The bottom of the cup is formed with opening 20 of suitable diameter'and this opening can'- stitutes a bearing for the cooperating journal portion 22 ofqthe adapter 24. As before 'statedthisadapter may with the interior surface of the bottom of the cup and it has an outside spaced parallel larger flange 28 which rotates within the limits of the cup. The inner flange is provided with a plurality of pointed spurs or pins 30 which are forcibly pressed into the cake of soap in the manner shown in Fig. 2 to provide the desired holding and suspending result. The features just described have been touched upon in the singular although it is obvious that the hub-like adapters are used on both sides, that is, rotatably mounted in the respective walls 10. It is permissible to have the cake of soap swivel freely between the walls although it is believed to be more practical and desirable to have it rotate in a step-by-step manner and to in fact hold it more or less steady in its progressively rotated position to facilitate applying the soap to the users face. To accomplish this pawl and ratchet means has been adopted. In carrying out this aspect of the invention the bottom of each cup is provided with circumferentially spaced beveled ratchet teeth 32 and the inner surface of the flange 28 is provided with a single tooth or pawl 34 which cooperates with the teeth 32 in a Wellknown pawl and ratchet fashion.

It is to be pointed out that the side walls of the sheath are of resilient properties to provide the desired tension and to permit the walls to be spread apart in the manner shown in dotted lines for inserting the cake of soap.

The entire holder is designed to be made from suitable plastic material, and is in one piece, except the two hublike mounts or adapters which will require individual insertion by the manufacturer. When the holder is pulled apart (by the user) for inserting the soap, there are no hinges at the bottom sides of the holder, the tension stems from the thickness of the plastic at the bottom sides of the holder, since the two sides tend to slope toward each other when the soap is removed from the holder.

The purpose of the pawl and ratchet feature is to prevent the less-used portion of the cake of soap from a continuous tendency to rotate to the bottom of the holder, thus requiring a repositioning of the soap every time it is "Patented Novrzti, 1957- used, especially after a considerable portion has been used from one side without any rotation.

The holder revealed serves to accommodate well-known types of mug shaving soap and makes it possible to dis pense'w ith the mug.

To produce the shaving :lather, dampen lower part of face (between lower lip and upper part of chain, to about half way on each check), then stroke with the soap six or eight times, dip the brush in water and work up the lather and spread it over the face and neck with the brush.

The result is excellent shaving lather, produced quicker and cheaper than anything elseon the market, no messy shaving mug, nor Washing 'soapy hands before shaving as is necessary when using brushess lather, no waste of soap-more than 100 shaves from one 15 cake of shaving soap, handy and convenient, when not in use, the case (with inserted soap) sits upright, any convient place, no cover necessary, as soap does not become hardened or crystalized during ordinary use, even for months.

When applying the soap, the lower portion of the outside surface of the walls is held between the thumb and other fingers during the application process. This feature will be dealt with by the manufacturer since how that surface is designed and shaped will be important to the user.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

Whatis claimed as new is asfollows:

1. A holder and applicator for a circular-type cake of shaving soap comprising a one-piece sheath channelshaped in cross-section and having a flat web serving as a base and a pair of opposed upstanding spaced Walls, the latter being resilient, and a pair of opposed axially aligned adapters mounted for rotation in axially aligned bearings provided therefor in said walls, said adapters being interiorly faced with a plurality of retaining pins adapted to be pressed into opposite vertical sides of said cake of soap in a manner to clampingly suspend the same for rotation in the channel portion of the sheath.

2. The structure defined in claim 1 and wherein at least one of said Walls is provided with circumferentially spaced ratchet teeth, and the cooperating adapter having a pawl operatively engageable in a step-by-step manner with said teeth.

3. A holder and applicator for a circular-type cake of shaving soap comprising 'a one-piece sheath channelshaped in cross-section and having a flat Web serving as a base and a pair of opposed upstanding spaced walls, the latter being resilient, the upper portion of each wall having a recessed portion cup-like in form and centrally apertured to provide a bearing, and an adapter having a journal portion rotatable in the bearing and provided with retaining pins adapted to be pressed into the adjacent central .portion of the cake of soap, said adapter also having a fiange'confined and rotatable in the cup portion of the recessedportion.

4. The structure defined in claim 3 and in combination, pawl and ratchet means interposed between and cooperating with the flange and recessed portion limiting the rotation ofthe adapter to a single direction.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,970,015 Morrison Aug. 14, 1934 2,295,672 Montbach Sept. 15, 1942 

